Santos received the Liberal Party’s nomination in December after he resigned as Vice President to run for President of Honduras in the November 2009 elections. Mauricio Villeda Bermudez, who defeated Roberto Micheletti in the primary, resigned to allow Santos become the candidate. On November 29, 2009, Santos lost the election against his opponent Porfirio Lobo Sosa, as predicted by the polls, by a considerable difference of 17.75%.

Elvin Ernesto Santos Ordóñez (born 18 January 1963 in Tegucigalpa) was Vice President of Honduras between 27 January 2006 and 18 November 2008, when he resigned to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for the Presidency in the 2009 elections. For the 2005 election the constitution was amended to create a single vice-president. (Hondurans previously elected three ‘presidential designates’ on a ticket along with the presidential candidate.) Although Santos served as Vice President under the presidency of Manuel Zelaya, he distanced himself from Zelaya since there were conflicts between the two politicians. He was also against the fourth ballot box referendum that Zelaya promoted.